This year, AIMEX, the largest mining trade fair in the Asia-Pacific region, which is held every two years, took place from 1st to 4th September in Sydney. This trade fair, which has been in existence for over 35 years, appeals in particular to mining suppliers who, as exhibitors, can present their latest products and services to the mainly Australian audience of experts.
Despite the sharp decline in the mining market over the last two years, 29 medium-sized German companies were present at the shared German stand, which was organised by the Messe Düsseldorf (Trade Fair Dusseldorf) in cooperation with the Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau e. V. (VDMA – German Engineering Federation), Frankfurt/Main. Together with other German companies, which were represented independently, the German contingent made up almost 10 % of the 449 exhibitors at the trade fair. Two years previously, 615 companies were represented, while 2011 was the peak year of the mining boom and saw this number rise to 638.
However, the most important point is that the visitor numbers were lower, which was a striking reflection of the current state of the mining industry when compared to the previous years: Although there were still 12,700 visitors in 2013 and 17,400 in 2011, the flow of visitors plunged to its lowest level this year to just 6,900. Despite the sharp fall in visitors, the quality of the discussions and the interest in the joint stand was comparatively high, which counteracted this development. Right now, the Australian mining industry is taking a strong interest in innovative and intelligent products or services which increase productivity and reduce costs.
A reception at the Consulate General, as part of AIMEX, was used as an opportunity to formally open the Centre of Excellence for Mining and Raw Materials at the German-Australian Chamber of Industry and Commerce (AHK), which has been active since February of this year. At the same time, a new regional mining network was brought into being: The German Mining Network (Australasia) – Competence in Mining and Resources, whose members communicate with each other as a closed group on LinkedIn. The network is part of a global mining network of existing mining centres of excellence in the Chambers of Industry and Commerce abroad in Toronto/Canada, Santiago/Chile, Lima/Peru and Johannesburg/South Africa, which is currently being built up. (Länger/Si.)
